Cannon to test for asbestos

Tests to begin in May

Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, N.M., will run air-quality tests in two Cold War-era housing complexes months after asbestos turned up in them.

Previous air tests, including one run in October, turned up trace amounts of asbestos at Chavez Manor and Gemini, both complexes used to house enlisted personnel and officers, base spokesman Staff Sgt. Craig Seals said.

Cannon officials believe there is no reason to think these materials pose a health risk.

"We're doing this as a precautionary measure," Seals said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned most products containing asbestos in 1989. A phaseout of the material followed.

Cannon's Bioenvironmental Engineering office plans to begin taking air samples some time in May.

"We're doing this as a precautionary measure."

Staff Sgt. Craig Seals

Chavez Manor and Gemini were built in 1974 and 1966, respectively, and collectively account for 571 homes.

It was not clear how many of the homes are occupied.

Two other housing areas nearby on the base - Chavez West and the Mercury - will not be tested. They either were built years after the asbestos ban or have been dramatically renovated recently, making asbestos contamination less likely, Seals said.

Not all the homes in Chavez Manor and Gemini will be tested, and air in some unoccupied houses will be sampled, Seals said. Base officials hope to report their findings by the end of June.

Cannon is an Air Combat Command installation whose primary mission centers on readying the Air Force's F-16 fighter wing for deployment at a moment's notice.